Posted by Russell Sommerfeld
The Seward Rotary Club has selected the William H. Seward Statue Plaza for its 2018 Rotary District Grant project.  The Plaza is the area surrounding the new Seward Statue and will be located on the northeast quadrant outside the Seward County Courthouse. The Plaza project involves new benches, sidewalks, landscaping and interpretive panels.

The Seward Rotary Club has selected the William H. Seward Statue Plaza for its 2018 Rotary District Grant project.  The Plaza is the area surrounding the new Seward Statue and will be located on the northeast quadrant outside the Seward County Courthouse. The Plaza project involves new benches, sidewalks, landscaping and interpretive panels.

The Plaza will provide a handicapped accessible gathering area around the Seward statue to serve as an educational setting for children and adults to learn about the community’s namesake.  The Plaza will also encourage downtown visitation and thus, economic development. The Plaza is a collaborative effort involving the partnerships of civic volunteer organizations, businesses, the Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership, The Seward Arts Council, and the Seward  County Commissioners.

The William H. Seward statue for Seward County Nebraska was the result of networking between the Rotary Club of Juneau, Alaska and the Rotary Club of  Seward, Nebraska.  Visiting Alaska Rotarians informed the Seward Rotary Club of the commissioning of the William H. Seward Statue for Alaska and asked if folks would be interested in having the  statue stop in Seward on its way to Alaska. The William H. Seward   statue arrived and was placed on the north side of the Seward County Courthouse and then transported to the Seward County Historical Museum in observance of Seward’s Sesquicentennial. 

Those attending the events expressed an interest in a William H. Seward statue for Seward, Nebraska. Rotarians Jon and Bonnie Kruse asked sculptor David Rubin if there was a possibility of having a second statue made. Mr. Rubin replied that he still had the molds and a second statue could be made at considerable savings. Jon and Bonnie worked with Senator Mark Kolterman, The Seward Arts Council, the Seward Chamber and Development Partnership and the County Commissioners on the project. The County Commissioners approved the location of the Seward Statue and the Seward Statue  Plaza. The new Statue was paid for by a major donor. Work on the Plaza can begin once the funds are raised. The Seward Visitors Committee and the Seward Chamber and Development Partnership        will measure the impact of the Plaza.

$1500 will be raised through the Seward Rotary’s July 4th Grocery Grab ticket sales to be matched a $1500 Rotary District grant for a $3000 Rotary gift to this project with an estimated budget of $60,000.   

William Henry Seward was appointed United States Secretary of State by President Abraham Lincoln in 1861, and served until 1869. Seward administering international relations during the Civil War.  As a New York Senator he was a strong antislavery proponent and was the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 1860, until Abraham Lincoln was chosen.  Seward is likely best known for negotiating the 1867 purchase of Alaska.